Responding to President Obama, Cuban President Raúl Castro said that Washington should not expect gestures from his country because it is the United States that is maintaining the economic blockade. “Cuba has not imposed any sanctions against the United States or against its citizens,” the Cuban president said. “Therefore Cuba does not have any obligation to make any gestures.”

Raúl Castro characterized as “positive” but “minimal” the steps taken by Washington, such as as the liberalization of travel by Cuban Americans to the island and the sending of remittances to their families--something that had been severely limited by former President George W . Bush.

“We have reiterated that we are willing to talk about everything with the Government of the United States on equal terms,” said the president of Cuba, “but not to negotiate our sovereignty, our political and social system, our right to self-determination, or our internal affairs.”

These statements were a response to rumors that there are policy differences between Raul and his brother Fidel.

The Cuban president also said that there would be no unilateral release of prisoners by Cuba but only a prisoner exchange for five Cuban agents held by the United States for a period of ten years.

Moderate governments such as Brazil insist that what Obama has done up to now is not enough and that the Washington government must do more to normalize its relations with Cuba. This is also the position of many governments outside the Americas. Public opinion polls in the United States also indicate that a majority of Americans favor normalizing relations with Cuba.

It seems that the interplay of these political pressures will have an important influence on establishing the rules for negotiations between the United States and Cuba, which seem more inevitable every day.